Artpark crowds top 30,000 on consecutive Tuesdays: Is it too much?

by jmaloni

Sat, Aug 6th 2011 12:45 am

A record-breaking crowd watched ZZ Top at Artpark this week. (photo by Terry Duffy)

Osborne: Artpark has
handled large crowds in the past

by Joshua Maloni

Following two straight
record-setting crowds at Artpark & Co.'s "Tuesday in the Park" concert
series, Village of Lewiston Mayor Terry Collesano and Police Commissioner Al
Soluri are asking when enough is enough.

On July 26, an estimated
30,000 people attended the free Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at the South Fourth
Street performing arts venue. It was the largest recorded crowd at Artpark and,
in one night, came close to the annual attendance of the two-day Jazz Festival
or the two-day Art Festival.

The milestone lasted all of
a week before it was erased. About 31,000 concertgoers ventured into Artpark to
watch ZZ Top perform on Tuesday.

"It was overrun, really,"
Collesano said following the Skynyrd show. "We just cannot handle that amount
of traffic in this little village."

He reiterated that point
following the ZZ Top show this week.

"It is too much, really,"
Collesano said.

Soluri, who rides around
with the Lewiston Police Department on "Tuesday in the Park" nights, said the
crowd size is "taxing" officers.

He said police and Artpark
security forces are "absolutely" outmanned when the crowd size stretches past
15,000. Even with extra officers the past two weeks (about 40 total), Soluri
said safety teams are "way under" what's typically required for that amount of
people.

"We've been very fortunate
(no serious accidents have occurred)," he noted.

Still, "The health, safety
and quality of life is starting to be affected by these crowds," Soluri said.

Collesano said 30,000
people is good for business, but at a cost to the village.

"If you talk to the
restaurants, each and every one will tell you they did fantastic," he said.
"The people were orderly. But, the village just cannot handle that amount of
traffic."

Part of the problem is the
migration of concertgoers from the Artpark parking lots (which charge motorists
$8 on the plateau and $10 on the main grounds) to village streets. Coupled with
this year's local law prohibiting parking on one or both sides of the roads
closest to Artpark, and motorists have spread into plazas and onto other open
streets - as far away as Chicora Road in the Town of Lewiston.

The end result is a two-hour
window (from about 9 until 11 p.m.) with traffic exiting the village from every
possible angle.

"Our village streets are
not designed to handle that amount of traffic in such a short time," Soluri
said.

Artpark & Co. has made
several adjustments in the past six seasons as a result of community input, and
President George Osborne said that trend would continue this year.

In the first two years
after the venue's management began booking top-name national acts in 2004,
complaints arose about patrons walking on private property - or doing other
things on residential lawns - and the noise emanating from the outdoor
amphitheater. Artpark officials adjusted the sound levels and speaker
configurations to handle the latter, while the LPD increased patrols in the village
to discourage the former.

Following the 2009 and 2010
seasons, residents voiced concern over the length of time it took to clear the
Artpark parking lots and move traffic out of the village. Subsequently, the
village made South Fourth Street one-way following "Tuesday in the Park"
concerts, and opened a new Robert Moses Parkway on-ramp off Seneca Street. The
total effect was access to the roadway from three different directions.

Osborne said his staff
purchased the village's "no parking" signs and spends between $4,000 and $5,000
extra each week on additional safety measures - including more yellow-shirted
security guards.

He acknowledged, "There are
some concerns about how many people we can accommodate" following the
back-to-back record-breaking weeks. But, he also said village officials need to
put these shows in perspective.

"There wasn't a substantial
difference between (those two crowds) and Styx," Osborne said. "We've had
crowds close to this size before."

Styx drew about 25,000 in
2006, while The Doobie Brothers had about that many last year. Since 2005,
concerts featuring Foreigner (twice), Peter Frampton (twice), Pat Benatar
(twice), Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins have drawn between 15,000 and
20,000 people.

Osborne and Collesano both
said discussions would take place this winter to assess Artpark's plans for the
2012 season.

Collesano and Soluri have
suggested curtailing the crowds. Osborne said his team has "cooperated all
along" with the village, but final decisions are "going to be made primarily by
Artpark & Co. and New York State Parks."

At this point, Osborne said
it's nearly impossible to keep pedestrian traffic out of the park on concert
nights. However, when Artpark & Co. receives permission from state parks to
build a new amphitheater, then a limit could be placed on total attendance.

As part of Artpark &
Co.'s $4 million master plan, the outdoor amphitheater would be relocated, the
10 buildings surrounding the bowl would be torn down, and patrons could spread
out more than they can now.

Moreover, Osborne said
Artpark & Co. would add a gate, thus allowing it to cap crowds if and when
staff deemed that prudent.

Osborne expects
amphitheater changes to begin this fall en route to "substantial improvements"
for next summer.

None of the remaining 2011 concerts are expected to draw 20,000 or more
people. Based on the track record of their peers (and previous Artpark
appearances), rock acts Edgar Winter, Ted Nugent, George Thorogood & the
Destroyers, The Machine performs Pink Floyd and Gregg Allman (on a Wednesday)
are expected to net between 10,000 and 15,000 respectively.